To The Victor Go The Spoils
by Mistress of the Darkwood
Summary: A sequel to 'Make That Two Bottles'. Methos attempts to sweet talk Triona in an effort to win his bet with Duncan. The final installment is 'Just Desserts', and can be found here on the archive.


Methos, on that edge between sleep and wakefulness, drew the woman sleeping next to him on the bed closer. Triona sighed softly, but didn't stir. Her back was cool, molded against the warmth of his chest, their legs intertwined, the top of her head tucked under his chin.

A little more awake now, his hand gently stroked her side, over her hip, across her leg, then back again, before slipping down to caress her breast. Still mostly asleep, she reached back, skimming her fingertips across his thigh; the feeling like a thousand tiny sparks across his flesh. Leaning in, he kissed her jaw, then his lips slid down to kiss her throat, the soft sigh of before now a low groan. This was going to be a wonderful morning. But an elbow in his ribs abruptly shattered his blissful fantasy of just how he was going to begin his day.

Pulling away, she sat up explosively, staring at the clock in the communication center on the bulkhead, pushing her tousled hair off her face. "How did it get to be that time?"

Methos chose to go with that being a rhetorical question, and didn't answer. Instead, he went for, a "Good morning."

"Well?" she asked pointedly, ignoring his greeting.

So _not_ a rhetorical question. Well then. "You were more tired than you thought. Went out like a light." There was always the chance she might not put two and two together, and just assume she fell asleep normally, without any added _assistance_ on his part. He put on his best innocent and harmless expression.

For a moment, Methos thought he might be home free, but it was not to be. "There's no way I would have fallen asleep for ten hours!" She punched his shoulder, glaring at him. "What did you do?"

"Me?" he protested. "I don't know what you mean!" His eyes widened innocently. Another punch on the shoulder. "Owe! If you're going to keep doing that, could you pick a different spot every so often?"

"I was going to fix the power coupling, and you handed me my coffee..." Her eyes flashed as she put it all together. "You drugged me! You bastard, you drugged me!" Her voice rose in a shriek of outrage.

"Just a little," he admitted, choking back laughter. No sense pushing his luck.

Her expression was the picture perfect image of righteous indignation. "Just a...!" Then she seemed to suddenly take in her surroundings, looking down at herself. Making a sound of inarticulate fury, she pounded the mattress with a fist. "I'm naked!"

Methos couldn't help it this time and he started to laugh. Finally he gasped, "You might recall that I like you naked."

"I don't care! You drugged me and left me here with no clothes on!"

"And?"

"And…. What if there'd been... I don't know... a fire! Then what?"

"A fire? On a metal spaceship sitting planetside with its engines shut down?" His eyes crinkled in amusement. He knew he shouldn't be antagonizing her, but was confident that he had plenty of time to win his bet with MacLeod. So he went with the urge to tease her just a little "Was fire ever a real possibility?"

Triona looked torn between screaming and strangulation. But instead she clambered over him and off the bed, not being at all careful of where her knees and elbows landed on the way. Pulling the bed sheet after her, she wrapped it around herself, glaring down at him. "How could you?"

"It was for your own good! And if you think about it rationally for just a moment, you'll realize I'm right. Well rested, you can spend your day doing your geeky rocket scientist thing much more efficiently and safely."

Her mouth hung open, as if unable to process a reply. Finally she shouted, "You are unbelievable!"

Pushing himself up to sit against the headboard, he replied with a smirk, "I like to think so." Leaning over, he snaked a hand up under her sheet to caress her thigh. "And if you come back to bed, I'll prove it. After all, you weren't complaining before you got yourself all in a tizzy."

"A tizzy?" She grabbed his wrist, pulling his hand away. "I'm furious with you, Methos! If you had any idea just how furious, you'd be on the other side of the damn planet by now!"

He shifted his hand, tangling his fingers in hers. "You can be furious, and you can also come back to bed." Deciding to throw fate to the winds, he pulled her down on top of him. "The two aren't mutually exclusive, you know."

Before she could form a response, Methos pulled her head down, capturing her lips with his. For a moment, she resisted, and then she was kissing him back with a fierceness that left him taut with anticipation.

_No not mutually exclusive at all_ , he thought as her body moved against his. He would never admit it to her of course, but there were times when he picked a fight just for this. The sex that followed the anger was always amazing.

She pulled away, searching his eyes before giving him a long lingering kiss. Then she rolled off him and the bed. "If you think you can get out of this one with just great sex, you have totally misjudged the situation," she said coolly before spinning away and heading for the shower.

Burying his head in his hands in frustration as the door swooshed shut behind her, he muttered, "Time for Plan B."

TBC in 'Just Desserts'


End file.
